/*
 * Copyright 2006-2008 the original author or authors.
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */
package net.martinimix.context.support;

import java.util.Map;

/**
 * Provides a service to return reference data for contollers, etc.
 * 
 * @author Scott Rossillo
 *
 */
public interface ReferenceDataService {
	
	/**
	 * Returns a map containing the reference data for the given
	 * name.
	 * 
	 * @param name the name of the reference data to be returned
	 * 
	 * @return a <code>Map</code> containing the reference data
	 * indentified by the given <code>name</code>
	 */
	public Map getReferenceData(String name);
	
	/**
	 * Returns the reference data key representing the 
	 * reference data entry for a not selected value.
	 * 
	 * FIXME: this requires better documentation
	 * 
	 * @param name the name of the reference data whose not
	 * selected key should be returned
	 * 
	 * @return the reference data key representing no selection
	 */
	public String getNotSelectedKey(String name);
	
}